Housing Finance, Tax Reform and Immigration Top Apartment Industry’s 2013 Priorities for Capitol Hill

By NMHC -

February 28, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. February 28, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and the National Apartment Association (NAA) released the apartment industry’s 2013 policy agenda today. Top priorities for Capitol Hill this year include fixing the country’s housing finance system, creating tax code certainty and comprehensive immigration reform.

“Apartments create jobs. Our industry is not only a bright spot in housing, but the entire country. However, Congress needs to understand that almost everything they do affects our 35 million residents and the combined $1.1 trillion economic impact we add to the national economy,” said NAA President Douglas S. Culkin, CAE.

“We need at least 300,000 new apartments each year just to keep pace with the demand, but only 130,000 apartment homes were built in 2011,” said NMHC President Doug Bibby. “Without access to capital in all markets at all times or certainty in the tax code, we lack the ability to keep pace with the tremendous need for new apartments across the country.”

The apartment industry urges Congress to:

Maintain a federal guarantee for multifamily mortgages whether or not they choose to retain Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their present forms. This is crucial to ensuring that liquid mortgage capital is available in secondary and tertiary markets during all economic climates.
Enact comprehensive tax reform that doesn’t harm the increasingly important apartment industry and our ability to construct, rehabilitate and manage the rental housing America needs.
Develop comprehensive federal immigration reform to address border security, employment eligibility verification, documentation for unauthorized individuals currently living and working in the U.S. and a workable guest worker program.

To view the industry’s full 2013 priorities or to see how policy intersects with apartment development and operations, visit www.NMHC.org/2013priorities or www.naahq.org/governmentaffairs. To learn more about apartments, visit www.weareapartments.org.

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For more than 20 years, the National Apartment Association (NAA) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) have partnered on behalf of America’s apartment industry. Drawing on the knowledge and policy expertise of staff in Washington, D.C., as well as the advocacy power of 170 NAA state and local affiliated associations, NAA and NMHC provide a single voice for developers, owners and operators of multifamily rental housing. Apartments and their 35 million residents support more than 25 million jobs and contribute $1.1 trillion to the economy. To learn more about apartments, visit www.weareapartments.org. For more information, contact:

NMHC at (202) 974-2300 or or www.nmhc.org.